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15th Annual
Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference
Day 1:
Taking Stock of the Saudi Arabian-U.S. Relationship:
Examining the Implications for Interests & Policies
Day 2:
The 25th Anniversary of the Gulf Cooperation Council,
Forum on the Future of the GCC
October 30 - 31, 2006
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
Speakers & Events
DAY 1 | DAY 2
DAY 1: Monday, October 30, 2006
TAKING STOCK OF THE SAUDI ARABIAN-U.S. RELATIONSHIP:
EXAMINING THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERESTS & POLICIES
8:15 - 9:00 am - REGISTRATION & COFFEE
9:00 - 9:15 - WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO, National Council on
U.S.-Arab Relations; Member, Council on Foreign Relations; Adjunct
Associate Professor on Saudi Arabia and Gulf Politics, Center for
Contemporary Arab Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown
University; author, numerous books, articles, and essays on the Arabian
Peninsula, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the six GCC countries.
9:15-10:30 - TAKING STOCK OF THE SAUDI ARABIAN U.S. RELATIONSHIP
Moderator: Ms. Afnan Al-Shuaiby, Advisor to the President of
the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council, Washington, D.C.; formerly a
business consultant to major U.S. companies and commercial associations,
including Walt Disney World Company and the Business Council.
Keynote Speaker: "Saudi Arabia and America: Where Are We Headed?"
-- H.E. Abdalla A. Alireza, Minister of State, Saudi Arabian
Council of Ministers; former Co-Chairman, National U.S.-Arab Chamber of
Commerce.
Panelists:
• "Saudi Arabian-U.S. Relations: A Balance Sheet on the
Issues of Greatest Importance to Both" -- The Hon. Robert Jordan,
Partner, Baker and Botts; President, Dallas Committee on Foreign
Relations; Member, Board of Directors, the John G. Tower Center for
Political Studies; in addition to having served as personal attorney to
President George W. Bush, he was U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
2001-2003.
• "The Dynamics of Educational Reform in the Kingdom: A
Balance Sheet" -- H.E. Dr. Khalil Al-Khalil, Member, Majlis ash-Shura
[National Consultative Council], Riyadh and Professor, Imam Muhammad ibn
Saud Islamic University, Riyadh.
• "Women's Rights and Development in the Kingdom: An
Analytical Assessment" -- Dr. Eleanor Abdella Doumato, Visiting
Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown
University, Providence, Rhode Island; former president of the Association
for Middle East Women's Studies; co-editor of, inter alia, Getting God's
Ear: Women, Islam, and Healing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, plus author
of essays on women in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf in numerous
edited volumes and monographs as well as scholarly journals and
encyclopedias.
10:30 - 11:00 - BREAK
11:00-12:30 - REGIONAL STRATEGIC ISSUES: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Moderator: H.E. Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi, Director General,
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation, Riyadh, and former president,
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Keynote Speaker: "Strategic Scenarios for the Energy Future" --
Dr. Daniel Yergin, Chairman, Cambridge Energy Research Associates;
author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, for which
he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and more recently, Commanding Heights:
The Battle for the World Economy; former Chair, U.S. Department of
Energy's Task Force on Strategic Energy Research and Development; Board
Member, U.S. Energy Association; Member, the National Petroleum Council;
the sole foreign member of the Russian Academy of Oil and Gas; Trustee,
The Brookings Institution; Board Member, the New American Foundation;
Advisory Board Member, the International Institute for Economics.
Panelists:
• "Impact of Events in Iraq and Iran: Implications for
Saudi Arabian Interests and Policies" -- Mr. Nawaf Obaid, Managing
Director of the Saudi National Security Assessment Project, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia; co-author, National Security in Saudi Arabia: Threats, Responses,
and Challenges.
• "Assessing the Kingdom's Efforts in Counter-Terrorism
and Political Reform" -- Dr. Rachel Bronson, Director of Programs,
Institute for Global Affairs, Chicago; former Director of Middle East
Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Council's Senior
Associate for Near East Programs; author of Thicker than Oil: America's
Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia; and testifier before The
Congressional Anti-Terrorist Finance Task Force; Congress' Joint Economic
Committee; and the 9-11 Commission.
• "Oil Prices and the Financial and Investment Outlook
for Saudi Arabia" -- Dr. Nahed M. Taher, Founder and Chief
Executive Officer, Gulf One Investment Bank, Bahrain, -- the first Saudi
Arabian woman to head a bank in the Gulf region; and former Chief
Economist, Saudi National Commercial Bank, where she was the first Saudi
Arabian woman to hold such a position.
12:30-2:00 LUNCHEON KEYNOTE ADDRESS: VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Moderator: Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO of the
National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
Keynote Speaker: "A Vision for the Future of U.S. Saudi Relations"
-- HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the
United States of America; Chairman, King Faisal Center for Research and
Islamic Studies in Riyadh; Co-Chair, C100 Group, Council of 100 Leaders
(West-Islamic World Dialogue) which has been affiliated with the World
Economic Forum since 2003; Founding Member, Board of Directors, King
Faisal Foundation; former Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom
and Ireland; and former Director General, General Intelligence
Directorate, the kingdom's main foreign intelligence service, 1977-2001.
2:00-3:30 THE ENERGY OUTLOOK: INDEPENDENCE OR INTERDEPENDENCE?
Moderator: The Hon. James Schlesinger, Chairman of the Board
of the MITRE Corporation and Senior Advisor at Lehman Brothers; Consultant
to the Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security; Member, the
Defense Policy Board, the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory
Board, and Vice-Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council; former
Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Director, Central Intelligence
Agency; and former Secretary of Defense as well as the nation's first
Secretary of Energy.
Invited Guest of Honor: The Hon. Samuel W. Bodman,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy.
Keynote Speaker: Mr. Khalid Al-Falih, Senior Vice President,
Industrial Relations, and Board Member, Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi
Aramco), the world's largest producer of crude oil and which manages a
quarter of the world's total oil reserves; Chairman of the Board, South
Rub' Al-Khali Company, an upstream gas joint venture among Shell, Total,
and Saudi Aramco; Chairman, Dammam City Municipal Council; former
President of Petron Corporation, a refining and marketing venture between
Saudi Aramco and the Philippine National Oil Company; former
Vice-President for Gas Ventures, Development, and Coordination.
Panelists:
Among the senior energy executives represented in the following session
are those whose companies are, among other things, major purchasers of
Saudi Arabian crude oil, joint venture partners in refining projects in
Saudi Arabia and the United States, substantial investors in both
countries while pursuing expanded commercial relations and sharing
technology to ensure continued reliable long-term energy supplies.
• Mr. Stephen D. Pryor, President, ExxonMobil
Refining and Supply Company and a Vice President of the Corporation
• Mr. Peter J. Robertson, Vice Chairman of the
Board, Chevron Corporation; former Comptroller for Chevron Oil Europe,
Comptroller of Chevron USA, and Vice President of Finance, Chevron USA;
former President, Warren Petroleum Company, Chevron's former natural gas
liquids subsidiary; former President, Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc.,
with responsibility for directing Chevron's oil exploration and production
activities worldwide; Director, U.S.-Russian Business Council; the
U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council; the American Petroleum Institute; and
Vice-Chairman, U.S. Energy Association.
• Mr. John D. Hofmeister, President, Shell Oil
Company; Head, U.S. Country Leadership Team, which includes the leaders of
all Shell businesses operating in the United States; Board Member, the
American Petroleum Institute, United States Energy Association, National
Association of Manufacturers, National Urban League, and the Foreign
Policy Association.
• Mr. James J. Mulva, Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer, ConocoPhillips, and Chairman, the American
Petroleum Institute; former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Phillips
Petroleum Company; Member, the Business Council and the Board of Visitors
of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
• Mr. Gary R. Heminger, President, Marathon
Petroleum Company LLC, and Executive Vice President, Marathon Oil
Corporation; Chairman, American Petroleum Institute Downstream Committee;
Chairman of the Board, Tiffin University; former Chairman, Louisiana
Offshore Oil Port, and Member, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
3:45-5:00 WHAT WENT WRONG, WHAT WENT RIGHT, AND THE WAY FORWARD --
MISTAKES MADE, LESSONS LEARNED
Moderator: The Hon. Walter L. Cutler, twice former U.S.
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, having represented President Ronald Reagan,
1984-86 and 1987-1988; Ambassador to Tunisia and Zaire and
Ambassador-Designate to Khomeini's Iran before diplomatic relations were
severed; President Emeritus, Meridian International, Washington, D.C.;
former Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional
Relations.
Panelists:
• "Economic and Related Reforms in the Kingdom's
Strategic Development Plans" - H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al-Qunaibet, Vice
Chairman, Economic and Energy Affairs Committee, Majlis ash-Shura
[National Consultative Council], Riyadh.
• "Perspectives of a Former Ambassador and United
States Senator: Saudi Arabia-U.S. Relations, Reforms, Elections, and the
Challenges Ahead." -- The Hon. Wyche Fowler, Chairman of the Board,
Middle East Institute; former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, having
represented President Bill Clinton, 1996-2000, and former Deputy Minority
Leader, United States Senate and Congressman, 1977-1993.
• "Enhancing the Mutuality of Benefit: The Bilateral
Commercial Dimension" -- H.E. Usamah Al-Kurdi, Member, Majlis Ash-Shura
[National Consultative Council], Riyadh; immediate past Secretary General,
Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry 1997-2001; former Vice
President, Saudi Consulting House, a fore-runner of the Saudi Arabian
General Investment Authority (SAGIA).
5:00-6:00 - RECEPTION AT THE RONALD REAGAN BUILDING & INTERNATIONAL
TRADE CENTER
Hosted by the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council, Ms. Susanne Lendman,
Vice President.
6:30-8:00 - RECEPTION AT THE ROYAL EMBASSY OF SAUDI ARABIA*
601 New Hampshire Avenue, Washington, D.C.
Hosted By HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabian Ambassador To
The United States.
*Participants are reminded that attendance at the Reception at the
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia is strictly by invitation only.
DAY 2: Tuesday, October 31, 2006
THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL:
25 YEARS OF CHALLENGES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
8:15 - 9:00 am - REGISTRATION & COFFEE
9:00-9:15 - WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO, National Council on
U.S.-Arab Relations
9:15-10:30 THE GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL: 25 YEARS OF CHALLENGES AND
ACHIEVEMENTS
Moderators: H.E. Shaikh Terky bin Rashid Al-Khalifah, Deputy
Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain; and Rear Admiral
Harold J. Bernsen, (USN, Ret.) Chairman, Board of Directors, National
Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; President, Board of Trustees of Physicians
for Peace; Director, American-Bahraini Friendship Society; former
Commander, U.S. Middle East Force; and Director Emeritus, National
U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
Panelists:
• "Impact and Implications for GCC Interests and
Policies of the Situation in Iraq" -- Dr. Michael Collins Dunn,
Editor of The Estimate and Editor of The Middle East Journal; noted
specialist on Middle Eastern defense and security issues; and former
professor, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, School of Foreign
Service, Georgetown University.
• "Impact and Implications for GCC Interests and
Policies of the Situation in Iran" -- Dr. Kenneth Katzman, Senior
Analyst of Gulf Affairs, Congressional Research Service, with special
emphasis on Iran, Iraq, the GCC countries, Afghanistan, and violent groups
operating in the Middle East and South Asia; author, U.S.-Iran Relations:
An Analytic Compendium of U.S. Policies, Laws, and Regulations; co-author,
"The Warriors of Islam: Iran's Revolutionary Guard;" and author of papers
on the ballistic missile capabilities of Iran for the Commission to Assess
the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States ("The Rumsfeld
Commission"); formerly, Majority Staff Member, International Relations
Committee, House of Representatives, U.S. Congress, and consultant to CBS
News on Al Qaeda and related Islamic extremist organizations.
• "Reflections on the Way Forward Regarding U.S.
Policies Toward the GCC Countries, Iran and Iraq -- Dr. Joseph Moynihan,
Regional Vice President for the Middle East and Africa, Northrop Grumman;
Founding Deputy Director for Research, Emirates Center for Strategic
Studies and Research; former AWACS Group Commander; and Visiting
Professor, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
10:30-11:00 - BREAK
11:00-12:30 WHAT FUTURE FOR THE GCC REGION?
Moderator: Ms. Anne Joyce, Editor, Middle East Policy and
Vice-President and Board Member, Middle East Policy Council, where, inter
alia, she was editor and in charge of production for The Gulf Cooperation
Council: Moderation and Stability in an Interdependent World; The Gulf,
Cooperation, and the Council: An American Perspective; A Century in Thirty
Years: Shaykh Zayed and the United Arab Emirates; and The Saudi-Egyptian
Conflict over North Yemen.
Keynote Speaker: "Pursuing Greater Cooperation Among the GCC
Countries: Opportunities and Challenges" -- HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal,
Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America; Chairman, King
Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh; Co-Chair, C100
Group, Council of 100 Leaders (West-Islamic World Dialogue) which has been
affiliated with the World Economic Forum since 2003; Founding Member,
Board of Directors, King Faisal Foundation; former Ambassador of Saudi
Arabia to the United Kingdom and Ireland; and former Director General,
General Intelligence Directorate, the kingdom's main foreign intelligence
service, 1977-2001.
Panelists:
• "Reflections on the Way Forward Regarding U.S.
Policies Toward Iran and Iraq" -- Dr. Anthony H. Cordesman, The
Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for Strategic and International
Studies; National Security Analyst, ABC News; Director, CSIS Middle East
New Assessment Project, The Gulf in Transition Study, and principal
investigator, CSIS Homeland Defense Project; former National Security
Assistant to Senator John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee;
Director of Intelligence Assessment, Office of the Secretary of Defense,
and Civilian Assistant to the Secretary of Defense; and author of more
than 40 books, among them, The Iraq War; National Security in Saudi
Arabia; Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century; The Lessons of Afghanistan;
Terrorism, Asymmetric Warfare; and Weapons of Mass Destruction.
• "A Geopolitical and Bilateral Cooperation Perspective
of the GCC Region and the United States" -- The Hon. Gordon Gray,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East, U.S. Department of
State, with responsibilities for, inter alia, the promotion of U.S.
interests in the Arabian Peninsula and Iran; former Director of Arabian
Peninsula Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
12:30-2:00 - LUNCHEON KEYNOTE ADDRESS: A VISION OF THE FUTURE OF THE
GCC
Moderator: Dr. Hussein Al-Athel, Secretary General, Riyadh
Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Keynote Speaker: "The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Way Forward"
-- HE Nasser bin Hamad bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to the United
States of America and Non-Resident Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the
United States of Mexico. Former Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom, and Non-Resident Ambassador to
Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, 2000-2005;
Permanent Representative to the United Nations; and Non-Resident
Ambassador to Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Nicaragua, 1996-1998;
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Italy, and
Non-Resident Ambassador to Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Malta, 1994-1996; and
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Korea,
1992-1993.
Panelists:
• "A Geo-Strategic and Defense Cooperation Perspective
of the United States and Southwest Asia" -- Lt. Gen. David Barno
(USA, Ret.), Director, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA
Center),
National Defense University, U.S. Department of Defense; former Commanding
General, Task Force Warrior, to train Iraqi armed forces in conjunction
with Operation Iraqi Freedom; Commanded more than 20,000 U.S. and
Coalition Forces in the Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom, with responsibilities to the US Central
Command for regional efforts in Afghanistan, most of Pakistan, and the
southern parts of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
• "American-GCC Relations: An Assessment of Reforms,
Elections, Challenges and the Prospects for Regional Peace and Stability"
-- The Hon. Chas W. Freeman, Jr., President, the Middle East Policy
Council; Chairman of the Board, Projects International; Co-Chair of the
United States-China Policy Foundation; Vice-Chair, Atlantic Council of the
United States; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International
Security Affairs; and former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1990-91.
2:00 - CONFERENCE ADJOURNMENT: Dr. John Duke Anthony
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